Mission 073-180
by MoonGun
Summary: In which Heero Yuy accidentally discovers Diagon Alley. Investigation, Shopping and General Mayhem ensues.
1. Chapter 1

Mission 073-180

In which Heero Yuy accidentally discovers Diagon Alley.

This story doesn't start with a newly found sibling or a discovery of previously unknown heritage. It doesn't even start with a chase scene or large explosions.

It starts with a memo:

* * *

TO: Agent Heero Yuy

FROM: EU Region Commander Lady Une  
DATE: October 10th, AC 198  
SUBJECT: Status Report

This memo is pertaining to recent complaints brought to my attention on your current behavior.

While your missions have been completed efficiently and thoroughly there have been several items brought to my attention via your fellow agents and commanding officers. These issues include: Use of unnecessary force in the apprehension of suspects, an inability to communicate with fellow agents, taking risks that inadvertently endanger civilians, little to no subtlety in actions taken during missions, and a lack of brevity in mission reports.

While your work has been exemplary several of these issues are problematic, if you cannot address them and alter your behavior we may have to reconsider the missions you will be assigned to and a possible reassignment from field to headquarters. Hopefully these issues can be resolved before your yearly review in December and we will not need to take any further action.

* * *

The facts disclosed in this email came as a complete shock to our protagonist. So he had slammed a couple suspected arms dealers around who turned out to be college students with paintball guns, and yes he had almost caused a five car pileup during a high speed motorcycle chase. However, his missions reports were perfect the way that they were (who knew what detail would lead to a break in the case?) and there was nothing wrong with his communication with other agents, if anything it was better than ever, he spoke, they listened and anything after that was unnecessary conversation. The only incident of any note was that of the Murray case which we DO NOT SPEAK OF and was better off forgotten by all agents involved.

Indeed this very situation came as a proverbial slap in the face, had he not worked tirelessly over the past 2 years for this organization? First as a bodyguard for a VIP diplomat, then moving to programming work at headquarters before settling in the EU regional offices as a top field agent. He had turned down opportunities to work at a multibillion dollar company, join the Mars terraforming project, be the CFO of a start up salvage company, travel with the circus, and marry a certain VIP diplomat (though that really was doomed from the start).

He had joined the force with a misguided idea that his skills were integral to preserving peace, forgetting that in many instances Preventers were a substitute for regular law enforcement officials. In a world that was so used to military control, the need for local law enforcement was a novelty. So while there were the occasional instances of bombings, gun smugglers and anti government operations, much of the local Preventers work involved preserving the local peace, instead of the global peace. After all two years of peace has swelled the Preventers ranks and created a reorganization of regional offices across earth and the colonies.

The assignment to the EU area had not come as a surprise to Yuy, he had plenty of experience working in the area during the war and had spent a fair amount of time post war traveling the area with that certain diplomat. His diverse experience and higher rank gave him the opportunity to take high profile cases farther away from regional headquarters in London. The smuggling case in Germany, corruption and bribery of government officials in Switzerland, and the Murray Case, which despite being a complete disaster from start to finish had ended with a successful, but not entirely happy, conclusion for all involved.

Not two days after receiving this memo, Yuy received a mission assignment that would change his life. When he received this mission he certainly didn't seem to think so, and isn't that always how these things go, indeed he was secretly infuriated to be assigned such a mission, the details of which were so inane at first glance he considered the thought that it was all an elaborate prank. While the mission assignment form was written in great detail and required formatting (which he appreciated), it can simply be summarized in the first paragraph:

Agent Yuy will run surveillance on the "Flash Way Back" Record Store on Charing Cross Road, section 7E London. The business deals in antique music recordings from the late twenty first century onward. However there have been several tips from various sources that the business is merely a front for a drug smuggling ring. For four weeks Agent Yuy will observe the business as covertly as possible, if there is any suspicious movement Agent Yuy will report to Supervisory Agent Farraget immediately, if there is no movement Agent Yuy will submit a report at the end of the mission stating his findings. Under no circumstances shouldn Agent Yuy attempt to apprehend any suspects without the express permission of the supervising Agent.

This mission is, as you've probably already assumed, a cheap attempt to test Agent Yuy on the very issues highlighted in the aforementioned memo. With the exception of the lack of communication skills because, at the end of the day, no one really thought they could change that. The lack of subtlety was not lost on Agent Yuy but he was committed to approaching this assignment with the same amount of focus and efficiency he would any other and demonstrating that any evaluation of his credentials was unnecessary.

He certainly wasn't expecting to discover what he did, but life is full of little surprises.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter (however much I wish I do)

A/N: This isn't my first crack at FF, but I decided to tear everything down and try again with something completely different. There will be some Diagon Alley action next chapter so don't worry, still haven't decided if there be any Harry - Heero conversation, any opinions?


	2. Chapter 2

In the week leading up to the mission Heero conducted the usual procedures, working surveillance on the area where he would be observing, forging the necessary documents, researching his target and establishing a cover. A major point of interest in the case was the finances of the store, for a company dealing in the most common of antiques there seemed to be a constant flow of large sums of money, this and the tips instigated the investigation. As the situation was obviously unique in the fact that failure was not an option, his job depended on success, he took the time to contact an old friend who happened to be an infiltration expert. The friend was not easy to contact, considering his career as the star act in a traveling circus took him all over the earth sphere and the colonies, and more importantly had a meddling sister who despised Heero.

After finally getting in contact and conveying the mission details and necessity of success, all of this over a certain amount of laughter from his "friend", he asked for any advice. While this friend stressed several times that a simple surveillance mission was not nearly as complicated or stressful as infiltrating and integrating oneself into not one but two paranoid military operations, and in turn having to keep up the pretense even when your friends and allies despised you, and wait why hadn't _he_ ever received an apology for all those times they'd doubted him? But that is entirely off topic, as Heero pointed out, he had offered three key pieces of advice that would serve Heero well both in his mission and in his later discovery of the much better hidden magical world.

1. Create a cover that best suits the situation you are infiltrating

a. Know the cover back to front

b. Do not compromise your cover no matter what

2. Change with your environment

a. If there is a sudden change in mission act accordingly to maintain cover

b. Adjust cover if necessary to suit new environment

3. Follow others lead

a. Find an individual who best matches your cover

b. Attempt to follow their lead in situations you do not understand

i. Never let on that you don't know what's going on

The mission had started as all surveillance missions did, not just because Heero did everything _by the book_ but because such mission left little opportunity for variation. A well placed pizza place across the street offered a perfect view of the only door into the Record Store, under his cover as a recent high school graduate Heero had secured a position as a waiter the week leading up to the mission. Now with the access he had to the restaurant he was able to return at night and equip the building with any and all video and audio technology he deemed necessary.

Heero was not one to question a mission but by Tuesday he was exhausted but at the same time bored. As far as he could tell working as a waiter is a mix of sitting around and running around, but even worse was the friendly and open demeanor that was required. Heero Yuy was not known for his sociability but Heero Jones (average eager teenager) was friendly, open and a great waiter, he never realized how much smiling hurt.

By the Friday of the first week Heero had watched over 100 hours of footage where people entered and exited the Record Store, learned that the customer is _always_ right even when they're wrong, and made a combined $20 in tips. It was around hour 75 of footage that he realized that after hours a small group of men in their mid twenties would arrive at the store, and three hours later leave again carrying suspicious brown bags. With the concept of subtlety in mind Heero tried to come up with a way to scout out the store without suspicion after hours, it was then that he had a breakthrough.

The breakthrough's name was Caroline, Caroline Jones was a 25 year old waitress who had taken Heero under her wing because apparently: "Us Jones' have to stick together!" Their shared surname aside Caroline was Heero's ticket into the Record Store, because as she mentioned several times "My lazy boyfriend works at the useless junk store across the street selling ancient records." All that was needed was for Heero to express an interest in antique records and regret that he couldn't visit the store during the day because of, and this is a term he heard Caroline use often, "Our asshole boss."

She was eager to help him out and promised "Clear your schedule tomorrow night, I'll have my boyfriend let us in and you can browse all you like!" The word sweetie pie might have been said at some point but Heero felt it wasn't necessary to include that on the official report. In preparation for the impending visit Heero spent the preceding night watching pedestrian footage in case any of the suspicious bags were handed off. While all the packages stayed with their individuals he did observe several strange things.

One: Some of the pedestrians who frequented this section of Charing Cross Road seemed to have no sense of how to properly dress themselves. While Heero was no expert in fashion he was relatively sure that most people knew that button down shirts buttoned at the front, that stockings go on feet not arms, that belts were not worn wrapped around the forehead and that undergarments should always be worn under dresses, especially if an old man is wearing the dress and it's a particularly windy day. While this style of dress may be considered eccentricity or madness in one person when there were at least three different people each day roaming the street in such attire it became a point of interest.

Two: People wearing robes, which was really a sub category of the first but was suspicious enough to stand alone. Along with the bizarre clothing choices, and sometimes in conjunction with, several people had appeared on footage wearing robes. Long sweeping garments that seemed to come in a variety of colors. Despite their elaborate dress they seemed to always be walking out of alley ways. It was then that Heero developed the theory that there was something strange happening on Charing Cross Road.

Three: Heero could have ignored the strange clothes but it was the disappearing that really interested him. All of these strangely dressed people would walk straight past the Record Store, then disappear. Not turn around or go past, but somewhere between the record store and the large bookstore next to it, they somehow vanished.

The only possible theories involved: climbing down into sewers, crawling into a before unseen alleyway between the two buildings, or possibly jumping onto the roof. All of which truly weren't possible answers for this illogical situation. Heero reminded himself to remain focused on the mission at hand but if the operation kept running as smoothly as it was there would be more than enough time to investigate this phenomenon further.

Saturday night found Heero sitting outside waiting for Caroline to lock up, his handpicked sweatshirt jeans and boots combination were designed to convey to his coworker that he was completely normal in every way. While he waited he took the opportunity to observe the now quiet streets, it was perfect hour for silent contemplation, families were home sleeping and the adults were huddling from the cold in restaurants and bars. While he tried to keep his mind focused on the mission he couldn't help but let his mind wander to the mysterious space between the buildings. He didn't allow himself to look, there was a mission to complete, a mission that would decide his future as an Agent, doing work that he kind of enjoyed, did he enjoy it?, perhaps this was a case of simply being comfortable in what he knew, maybe…maybe… The possible introspective epiphany was interrupted by the slamming of a door as Caroline stomped out of the building locking it swiftly behind her.

"Those pigs in the kitchen and our asshole boss left grease everywhere, and you know who had to clean it up _me._ I ask for one little favor, which isn't really a favor and all the sudden they think I'm their slave…" Heero had learned that whenever Caroline worked herself up to this level of fury it was better to nod and let her get it out of her system. Her rant gave him the opportunity to give his subconscious a fierce shake, Preventers was where he belonged he couldn't possibly be happy anywhere else. "…So lets go see if that idiot boyfriend of mine has remembered to stay behind and let us in."

In the end the infiltration into unknown territory was surprisingly anticlimactic; The Lazy Boyfriend unlocked the door and just let them in. Heero was concerned that he wouldn't have an opportunity to search the entire building with Caroline staying so close. The issue remedied itself when Caroline started an argument with The Boyfriend over "Carrie Richards down the street" who apparently had been spreading particularly vicious lies about Caroline. After confirming that they were sufficiently distracted Heero began his systematic search of the building. The front room contained ancient records preserved in plastic containers, late twenty first century compact disks, and a variety of music players ranging from the truly ancient to relatively recent.

The sweep of the front room came up clean so with a quick glance to the still arguing couple Heero slipped into the back room. While the front room had been crowded with items but still organized the back room was over flowing with disorganized piles of documents, compact discs and pizza boxes. Sifting through the documents proved to be of little use as they mainly contained angry letters from customers commenting on the poor quality of the products and multiple requests for refunds. A bank notice dated three months prior showed significantly less revenue from the business then what current research had uncovered. There was clearly a significant amount of evidence that this store was somehow earning money under the table, only adding to the theory of drug smuggling.

It was then that Heero noticed the shouting had died down and slowly turned towards the door to see Caroline and The Boyfriend watching him.

"Lost something?" asked The Boyfriend with a look on his face that said 'my girlfriend bosses me around so I feel the need to assert my masculinity over strangers' or at least that was how Heero would describe it.

"I just wanted to see if you had anything more interesting back here, the stuff out front is so…pedestrian. How does this place even stay in business?" The concept of riling your victim up in order to extract information was an old trick he'd learned during the war, though not before being ensnared several times by it. Heero was predisposed to dislike The Boyfriend what with the possibility of drug trafficking and the fact that he never took Caroline anywhere nice. With a certain amount of spite Heero refused to remember The Boyfriend's name so mentally he was forever labeled "The Boyfriend".

"What this isn't good enough for you? These are classic albums kid! They've been preserved for centuries just so you can get your grubby hands on them! That's the problem with the average idiot always looking for the fastest thing, not interested in sitting down and actually listening to a record! I'll have you know that if more people actually cared about what goes into their ears then these priceless pieces of history would be flying off the shelves." Heero now realized why Caroline liked this guy so much, obviously couples developed similar speech patterns over time.

"Why don't you show him that thing you told me about." advised Caroline with a wink at Heero.

"That "thing" is supposed to be a secret I wasn't even supposed to tell you."

"Hey I trust Heero he's a good kid."

"Being a good kid doesn't mean I want to risk my job/freedom over him."

"Stop being overdramatic you're not even in charge I doubt you'd go to jail for this."

"Guess it wouldn't matter to you either way would it! With me gone you could finally hook up with that asshole from the book store." Heero decided to intervene before the argument escalated by using the oldest trick in the book.

"Leave it Caroline I don't want to see it; it's probably something really lame." The Boyfriend turned around to glare at Heero, obviously angry but still not at his breaking point. Thankfully Caroline seemed to understand Heero's strategy and decided to help out.

"Now that I think about it you're right it's really dumb, I bet it's not even really illegal."

"It is illegal!" shouted The red faced Boyfriend. "If we got caught we could all get charged for dealing and distribution. You know what…fine I'll show him, but if he rats us out you're paying my bail." He shoved over a particularly large pile of pizza boxes to reveal a trap door underneath. Heero could only wonder at how easy this mission was, a four week mission with a five day resolution had to be an agency record. In the basement of the building there was a surprising lack of drug den paraphernalia, indeed it seemed to be another room full of boxes, but Heero knew that in these cases you couldn't judge at first glance. Whatever the situation turned out to be Heero reminded himself that this operation was strictly observation; he was not approved to take any active action. The Boyfriend was lifting one of the boxes and carrying it to a sturdy metal table in the center of the room. He swiftly pulled on a pair of latex gloves.

"Prepare to be amazed." He carefully unsealed the box and lifted out of it what appeared to be a large hard plastic box, containing a thin book.

"What is that?" questioned Heero

"What is _this_!? What is _this_!? Do you live under a rock!?" Caroline swiftly smacked him in the arm.

"How are we supposed to see the way you're holding it? Plus not everyone's an antique nut like you and your weirdo friends." Caroline turned to Heero, "It's some ancient comic book, they're really all supposed to be in museums but one of the guys had an uncle who left him a huge collection. Technically it's illegal because items of historical value are required to be submitted for evaluation and historical preservation but the guys have been selling them via nerd underground."

"This is not just a comic book!" gasped The Boyfriend "This is Detective Comics issue #27! The first appearance of Batman! Do you know how much this is worth? Donny says it's got to be worth at least a million dollars maybe more!"

Illegalities aside supposed comic book smuggling was not under the jurisdiction of the Preventers, as far as Heero was concerned this mission was over. However… there was still the case of the mysterious vanishing people, mission parameters had clearly stated that not movement meant wait out mission. Technically there had been no movement in the drug dealing case (which was nonexistent). If it came down to it Heero could always write off his extended stay as a desire to continue observation subtly and proceed with caution. He would obviously not mention his own personal interest, as far as anyone needed to know this was all strictly Preventer business.

As he listened to the couple argue in the background he couldn't help but think of that gap in space, those missing people and the mystery he couldn't wait to unravel.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter (however much I wish I do)

A/N Hey guys, I love that so many people have at least looked at my little fic... I just wish you would all drop a line and say hello! I know there wasn't the HPness that I promised but I wanted to get our little drug smuggling plot completed before Heero gets to really investigate! There will be intense Harry Potter amazingness next chapter, which should be loaded some time next week! Any spelling/grammar errors please point and I will correct them immediately!


	3. Chapter 3

The investigation into the vanishing fashion impaired people began bright and early Sunday morning. Charing Cross Road was relatively empty guaranteeing Heero an opportunity to better investigate the supposed alleyway between the record store and the book store. The early hour also gave him the slim chance of not being seen by any of his coworkers especially Caroline who had been encouraging him to "get a life" when she realized he was working double shifts. Heero had painstakingly sifted through his footage and collected stills of each vanishing individual. Each still was catalogued and labeled by style of dress (categories ranged from robes to homeless person), frequency of visits/disappearances, ethnicity and gender. While some of his fellow agents, and sometimes friends, felt Heero's attention to detail was stalkerish in intensity, it always led to results. Heero was all about the mission and completing the mission meant getting results. Though this current mission was technically not sanctioned that didn't mean Heero would let his standards slip. Without standards he'd be not better than a kid playing detective, and he was neither a child nor _playing_ at being a detective. This was a serious investigation.

There was a certain gentleman who wore a bright yellow kilt, lime green rain boots and a flowery tunic who arrived promptly at five AM each morning from down the street. Heero had yet to confirm where this man came from but he always approached the shops from the south moving at an awkwardly slow pace waddling along in boots that seemed two sizes too small before mysteriously disappearing. His slow pace and apparent disregard of his surroundings made him ideal candidate for further observation, plus there was no way of losing him in crowd. Heero tracked Lime Rain boots across the street from a very inconspicuous spot behind a column. Rain boots clunked up the record store, past the record store, walking towards to bookstore, turns left and promptly disappears. Ignoring all concept of proper conduct Heero sprinted out from his hiding space to the apparent gap in time and space. There was nothing there just two buildings touching each other, but that wasn't really important hadn't he forgotten something he needed to do? There was this intense feeling that he need to leave, that he had forgotten something very very important.

Whatever that feeling was it had never met Heero Yuy. The well organized mind does not take manipulation willingly. Even as that niggling little doubt tried to worm its way in, it was viciously crushed under the might of logic, efficiency and an intense dedication to "to do" lists. There was nothing Heero had forgotten, everything was perfectly in order, everything had been checked and rechecked before he set out this morning. The more he squashed it the more Heero began to feel that there was something very wrong with the man eating gap. Before he could contemplate this further he heard voices echoing down the empty street, and in an attempt to appear less like a crazy man staring at a wall he rushed to his former hiding spot. He observed a couple heading up the street, both individuals were dressed appropriately (that is to say no shoelaces used as belts) so Heero wrote them off as simply a couple out for a stroll.

"She told us to meet her here didn't she?" queried the perfectly ordinary woman, smoothing her skirt in a nervous gesture. Unimportant categorized Heero, using specific locations for meeting up was a bit archaic, why not call or text, but wasn't unheard of.

"Yeah she said in front of the record store and next to the bookstore." Replied the man. Suddenly the boring ordinary couple became very interesting, though they didn't know it they had just had the entire focus of Heero Yuy turned on them.

"What time is it?" The woman was looking around fretfully, though completely missing the teenager spying across the street.

"Almost a quarter to six. She'll be out in any minute."

"Out from where, I just don't understand any of this." Oh yes, this is it, Heero would get his explanation finally, all of the confusion would be cleared up by the no longer boring couple.

"I already explained it, This is-" The man was interrupted by the appearance of a young woman, Heero would have been more annoyed if she hadn't appeared out of thin air, apparently the gap consumes and spits out people.

"Mister Halloway?" enquired the Woman, average looking in a perfectly normal pants suit, the only identifiable feature being a ridiculous amount of bushy brown hair which had been forced into a bun at the base of her neck but didn't seem to take kindly to its imprisonment.

"Ah, Ms. Granger, may I introduce my wife Imogen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Handshakes were exchanged all around. "Mr. Halloway said over the phone that you wanted to buy a gift for your son."

"Yes, Alan just started his first year and we wanted to buy him something to help him become more comfortable. Also maybe some books for us, everything is so new and confusing."

"That's exactly how my parents felt when I first left for school, of course at that time it was much easier to get in. The changes in safety measures led to the creation of this program for non-magical parents." Heero leaned further around the column, for such a short distance there seemed to be some sound distortion, she couldn't possibly have said magical, maybe it was non musical? That would explain meeting at this location. The sudden appearance of Ms. Granger had been viciously shoved under a mental file label 'important information to be analyzed later'. "That's actually why I set up this program parents in your situation shouldn't have to feel cut off from their children."

"When we came for school shopping the professor gave us the number to call if we needed to come back. She did this… thing to our phone to make sure it worked there." Imogen waved her hand dramatically over her head to demonstrate what exactly was done. Heero was considering whether he was witnessing two well dressed mental patients and an optical illusion meeting in the street, their relaxed demeanor and appearance ruled out the option of espionage or undercover officers.

"Yes well the whole process is very simple, you just need to hold onto me and try to ignore the wards."

"Wards?"

"Yes they're specifically designed to keep certain people out, step too close and you'll suddenly remember somewhere you need to be. My being here will help you to _see_ where you need to go but you still need to have the will to go there. It will be difficult at first but think very very clearly about what you need to do. It's Destination, Determination and Deliberation." Something about the last statement amused Ms. Granger as a smile worked its way onto her face.

"Are you quite sure it's safe?" asked Imogen. Who Heero was realizing had a permanently nervous disposition, it really was quite annoying. Ms. Granger seemed to agree with Heero.

"Yes, Yes of course it's safe. I've been taking people through frequently and nothing has gone wrong. All you need is a witch or wizard, a sturdy grip, and a focused mind." Ms. Granger seemed to be doubting the Halloway's abilities, the Halloways were doubting Ms. Granger would keep them safe, and Heero was worried for all threes sanity (witches and wizards? Really?). "Shall we?" Ms. Granger offered up her arm and with a shared glance the Halloways grabbed on.

"Oh" gasped Imogen, "that really is magical." Heero broke cover, he wanted to fully observe what happened next, he refused to even blink. However well his observational skills were all he saw was Ms. Granger dragging the Halloways towards the gap and the three blinking out of existence.

30 minutes later found Heero still tracing his hand over the thin space between the two buildings, the need to go elsewhere was knocking at the back and was starting to cause a pounding headache. But one doesn't survive a war and being stalked by a screaming teenage girl without the ability to block physical pain out. However even the best soldier needed a break so Heero made his way back over to a bench across the street, 6 AM had brought the arrival of early birds, elderly power walkers, strolling couples and local business owners. Blocking out the surrounding people Heero tried to focus on what he learned from his observations.

1. The crack was not just a crack it was an opening to somewhere else

2. There were people who could get into the crack through some means (Magic?)

3. These people were Magical, These people think they're Magical, These people may or may not be magical - investigation will hopefully provide further i information

4. Whatever they are certain people have capabilities to travel through the gap

5. The gap caused the non "magical" to desire to leave the gap if they moved too closely

6. The only way to get through the gap was to touch a "magical person"

7. On the other side of the gap there was a shopping area (of all the things to hide, shops? Really?)

Conclusion: There was some secret area that could be accessed through the gap, specific people could easily enter the area (wizards? witches?). To enter the area he would have to remain in contact with one of these individuals without them realizing.

Heero Yuy was a man of plans and order. Mission came with orders, orders were made to followed. Plans were made to complete the mission as efficiently as possible. Heero had been following missions and making plans around missions for most of his life. His whole life was a plan, a to-do list of what must be done each day. In any other situation Heero would have taken the lack of data and walked away, you can't enter a possibly hostile situation without a full understanding of what's going, unless it's a life or death situation curiosity just has to wait. He was planning to walk away really, he started to walk down the street when _she _passed him. A posh looking woman in ruby red robes, other pedestrians seemed to ignore her but as she strode past Heero a shiver ran through him. So Heero did something spontaneous, something completely unnecessary and potentially dangerous.

He turned around caught up with the woman and creeping behind her delicately placed his hand on the back of her robes. He looked up, up ahead was the record store, next to it was the… next to it was… the third thought seemed to make it through. Next to the record store was… a run down looking shop, more than run down _ancient_ all dark wood and faded metal a large dusted window overlooked the street and a heavy wooden door lead inside. The red robed woman continued walking toward the building, no longer a gap but an entire hidden building, unaware of her hanger on. The closer they got the more of a sense Heero got that he had forgotten something that he needed to leave, that he did not belong here. It reached a peak as they approached the door, the woman threw it open and practically dragged Heero over the entrance, it was only once they were inside that she noticed the man pressed up against her back.

"Who the HELL do you think you are!" exclaimed the woman pushing Heero off her. He slumped to the floor his head pounding like a gundam was tap-dancing on his skull. He closed his eyes in attempt to control the pain spiking through his brain.

"Problem Mrs. Malfoy?" questioned another voice.

"This thing," Heero didn't have to look to know she was sneering at him "was grabbing onto my robes. Probably some pick pocketing mudbl-"

"We don't allow that kind of language in this establishment" cut in the other voice sharply. "Why don't you just go on about your business I'll take care of him." Heero heard the swish of fabric signaling the departure of his unaware partner in crimes. "Can you get up?" the voice questioned soft and gentle.

He nodded unable to respond around the throbbing pain.

"I'm going to give you a hand up and we'll see what we can do." A soft hand grasped his and pulled him up with a surprisingly strong grip. "She must have cursed her robes, soon as you walked into her she got you with something. Headache hex is pretty easy to fix though." Heero was in no condition to inform her that it was the "wards" not any "curse" that had caused his current situation. He was carefully maneuvered so a chair where a firm hand pushed him down. "You just wait here I'll be back with a headache remedy."

The soft click of heels on stone signaled her departure. The longer he sat the more his headache lessened he was already replaying what had happened and reassessing his situation. He was in the building that ate strange people, the building had almost spat him back out, and a woman, possibly owner of the building, was fetching him some cure for his headache. He slowly slit his eyes open in time to see her return. For a people swallowing invisible building he was expecting something a little more exciting than a dingy looking bar. The room was clean but there was a feeling of stifled air and age, that and the poor lighting (who used candles?) created a rather disappointing scene.

"Here we go," a woman returned from a room behind the bar, she was wearing plain beige robes and her long blonde hair was braided and draped over one shoulder. In her hand there was a vial full of a murky brown looking liquid which was letting off an unappetizing smell. "You're lucky it was the last headache potion I had on me." She shoved it into his hands, he was obviously supposed to drink it and not hesitate, he remembered his rules of infiltration most importantly 'never let on that you don't know what's going on'. With that in mind he swallowed it in one gulp, if he hadn't survived his own cooking he probably would have spit it back out. Disgusting didn't even begin to cover the rotten eggs flavored sludge that oozed down his throat.

"Headache gone?" she questioned and Heero realized that the pounding was gone. He had consumed his first ever magic potion. The woman was giving him a questioning look which meant Heero was not blending in; he moved to remedy that immediately.

"Have any water? I can never seem to get the taste out of my mouth."

"Oh me too, isn't it disgusting! If it didn't work so well I'd swear off it." Heero gave himself a mental high five and attempted not to gape as the woman summoned a glass with the flick of her wand and with a murmur filled it full of water. Water that came out of a wooden stick, Heero wondered if he'd escape this place with his sanity intact. "I don't think I've seen you around before did you go to Hogwarts?"

"Ah no I actually just moved to England, I was living in Sanc, I heard about this place and decided to stop by." He took a sip, conclusion: wooden stick water tastes like warm tap water.

"Ah that explains it. So what do you think of the old Leaky Cauldron," she gestured around them "I've only just taken over, old Tom decided to retire all this work wasn't good for his lumbago. Frankly I'm surprised you found it, what with the floo broken." Heero filed that word floo under 'will be investigated later'.

"Yeah, I was walking in the area seeing the sights and decided to stop."

"That's much more practical than what others are doing, apparating into alley ways and having portkeys dropping them off all over the place. It's a shock no muggles have discovered this place yet." Apparating, portkeys, and muggles all added to file.

"I've noticed there have been some strange clothing choices." Heero hoped to move her away from words he didn't understand on to questions he wanted answered.

"Strange is understatement, I've got the ministry on my case because those damn purebloods won't change out of their robes and the old timers have no idea how to dress like muggles. If they would just learn the disillusionment charm I wouldn't have to put up guidelines." (ministry, pureblood, disillusionment charm, muggles again, muggles possibly non "magical" people)She gestured to a large poster on the wall written in sparkling purple writing 'The Do's and Don'ts of Dressing Like a Muggle' advice included:

DON'T wear muggle underwear over muggle trousers

DO wear muggle underwear under muggle clothing

DON'T wear clothing with moving pictures

DON'T wear socks with dancing objects

There seemed to be significantly more DON'Ts than DO's

"Everytime one of them gets caught out in the wrong clothes I get chewed out by the department for muggle affairs! Old Archie almost got arrested by the muggles for indecent exposure." The woman was slumped over in the chair next to Heero. Heero's research in proper interaction had prepared him for this moment so he awkwardly reached out and patted her hand.

"Everything will work out."

"You're a dear," the woman smiled at him. "I'm Hannah Abbott by the way, I own and run this pub. Keep an eye on the entrance to Diagon Alley."

"Heero Jones, just here to see the sights maybe do some shopping." Heero didn't know when he'd be able to slip into the building again, he would have to go all out in order to properly observe every aspect of this secret society. "You wouldn't happen to take muggle money would you? I'm starving, wasn't able to stop to eat before now."

"No problem. You got here just before the morning rush let me fix you something."

Heero was tucking into a plate over flowing with bacon and eggs, and cautiously sipping at something called pumpkin juice, when the morning rush started. Whatever strange things he had witnessed this morning didn't hold a candle to the realization that there were more than just a few strangely dressed people. There was a steady stream of perfectly disguised individuals who shifted their clothing with a wave of their wands as soon as they were fully in the pub. There were still a few of the incorrectly dressed mixed into the group who Hannah hurried to confront. There was much gesturing and raised voices on both sides with Hannah pointing to her guidelines several times. Nothing prepared Heero for the largest group. Shades and shadows seemed to step over the doorway cloaked in such a way that the only sign of something off was a distortion of the air. They glided through the door across the room and out the back where most of the visitors are heading. On her way back to the bar Hannah knocked into one of them who just glided past her as if they were smoke.

"Those idiots in their disillusionment charms." Complained Hannah, "In such a rush to take it off, guess it's a bit odd to not be able to see yourself. They were taking it off in here but it was holding up traffic so I set up a spot out back for them."

Heero leaned over to see out the back door, one of the shadows was swirling around and as it twisted a woman appeared in dark green robes. She twisted her wand around the two shadows next to her and two small children appeared. Heero actually reached up to rub his eyes in disbelief, this was followed by a mental smack to the head. 'Pull it together Yuy, you have successfully infiltrated a secret underground society that uses magic. These people are fashion impaired but can make themselves disappear with a flick of a stick. Nothing to panic about, remain calm, just keep your mental notes updated for mission report.'

"Guess you'll be heading in soon then?" asked Hannah nodding towards the back door, "Once it becomes crowded you'll really have to fight your way through the shops."

"Yes, Yes I guess that would be best." Heero stood up looking towards the shades that were steadily making their way towards the exit.

Carefully making his way towards the door he stepped out into the courtyard, surrounded by robe wearing individuals he realized that he was stepping into a completely different world.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter (however much I wish I do)

A/N: So Heero has finally made it into the magical world. I'm not sure where he'll be heading to first, any suggestions on shops he should visit er I mean "investigate" Any spelling/grammar errors please point them out and I will correct them immediately!


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing Heero noticed about the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron was that it was somehow the same size as the interior of the building. It was also full of people, to his right a woman was straightening her daughters robes not noticing her son reaching for the wand sticking out of her pocket, to his left a young woman was writing down a shopping list by dictating it to a magically moving quill. All around him was overwhelming evidence that these people and their practices were completely alien to him. However strange and different they might seem at first glance they were still queuing in a straight line towards the supposed entrance, Heero wondered if this was something preprogrammed into the psyche of all citizens of Britain. He joined the queue behind a man wearing dark orange with brooms embellishing the bottom; a closer look revealed that the brooms were dancing around each other flying along the hem. The line was steadily moving forward and Heero finally got close enough to see what was happening.

The woman with the mischievous son was walking up to a solid brick wall; in one outstretched hand was her wand in the other, with a much tighter grip, her son. The daughter was standing on the opposite side fuming and sprouting feathers from her eyebrows. As she approached the solid wall she carefully flicked her wand to a very specific spot and tapped it three times. With the third tap the wall seemed to shudder and pull back brick by brick, it started as a small hole and slowly expanded into a large archway.

"Right, one group at a time. Come on through Madame." A voice called from the opposite side of the archway. The woman pushed her daughter forward and all but dragged her son through a sour expression on his face as he dug his heels in. Another universal fact, Heero noted, young children will never do what you want them to if it doesn't align with their own goals. Once they were through the wall seemed to collapse on itself sealing the entrance up once again. This left Heero with a slight issue, how would he get through the wall without a wand to help him into the entrance, he was assuming (and rightly so) that there was something about using a wand instead of a regular twig that transformed the wall. To reach the wall and not be able to open it in front of a mob of magic users would blow his cover all the way to L1 and back. His salvation came with a shove in the back.

"Watch where you're going." A grumpy voice piped up behind, ignoring the fact that it had bumped into him. A glance down revealed a short old woman in lacy maroon robes, on her head was a quintessential witch's hat in a shade matching her robes. Everything about her screamed witch but nothing was more obvious than the shopping bags that floated behind her.

"Where are your parents? Didn't they teach you any manners? I didn't live to be this old just so I could get shoved around by hoodlums like you. Staring off into space like an idiot. Dressed like that, why can't children these days dress themselves properly?" The Witch, who really did look like a witch with a capital W, poked at him viciously with her wand but thankfully didn't cast any spells. Bystanders had glanced over when she'd first shouted but they now looked away, Heero guessed this was probably not an unusual occurrence.

"I apologize, I'm just here visiting, I've never seen the gateway before." Heero thought this would mollify the Witch, he obviously had no experience with elderly woman especially magical ones.

"Hmph" she snorted rising up to her full height, which was only to Heero's shoulder, with a scowl on her face. "Just because you've come here from Merlin knows where doesn't give you any right to act like an idiot." Note: these people swear using Merlins name, who is Merlin? "And look at your clothes," she gestured to his 'perfectly average teen' disguise "can't wear some decent robes like the rest of us." Looking around Heero realized that she was right, out of the crowd in the courtyard he was the only one who hadn't changed into robes.

"I didn't pack any robes." He offered.

"A likely story." Heero and the Witch had reached the front of the line. Heero moved to the side.

"Please go ahead of me Madame." She sniffed at him.

"I guess there are some manners under that ridiculous mop of hair." Heero wondered what she'd think of some of his comrades' hair if his insulted her so. She marched in front of him, her bags bobbing up and down behind her, and rapped her wand three times against a central brick. The wall slowly started to peel back each brick folding into the next, all in all up close it was a very impressive sight and this was coming from the man who had blown up Libra. His mind was racing, how was he going to get through after it closed behind her? Could he just move to the back of the line again and come up with a new strategy? It was his luck that the last bag in the Witches line dropped to the ground on his side of the arch. He stooped down to pick it up.

"Madame, your bag." He called out to her, she turned back to him scowling.

"What do you want a reward? Bring it over here." She crooked a finger at him gesturing that he follow her inside.

"Madame we're really only supposed to let related groups in." piped up a nervous man on the other side in plum colored robes. He almost seemed to shiver when the Witch turned her full glare on him.

"This is my idiot hooligan grandson. Though I guess he's not half as much of an idiot as you. Now hurry up you stupid boy." The purple robed man squeaked and seemed to shrink back as Heero moved to through the archway to the other side. He held his breath going under but there appeared to be no mind bending wards like the Leaky Cauldron.

He looked around and took in the narrow street he now stood on, the shops was crammed next to each other bearing names like: "Potage's Cauldron Shop", "Slug and Jiggers Apothecary", and "Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Magical Mess Supplies." Along each side of the street there were stands where prospective buyers could inspect the products. Heero had to suppress a smile when he saw the boy from before sneaking a dried spider down the back of his sister's robe.

"Well are you going to stand there all day like some dunderhead or actually get moving. I didn't help you in here to watch you stare at the street like a nitwit. Now hand over that bag I've got places to go." He turned around to see the old Witch was still there looking cross as ever. She was pointing one finger accusingly at where he still grasped her package in one hand. He handed it over and in a second, with a mutter and a flick of her wand, it had rejoined its kin floating around her.

"Thank you for helping me in. I've just never, never seen something quite like this." Something about what he said seemed to soften the old Witch.

"Well we're very lucky to still have it. It was a bit touch and go but we are nothing but resilient. Once the war was over we just built it back up again." Heero had thought with all their magic they would have been protected from the war, but maybe even secretly hidden shopping centers were open to mobile suit attack."Now you should go to Malkins and get some decent robes on, No respectable wizard would let you into their shop looking like that. Goodness if you're visiting somewhere you should at least try to adapt." Heero had the suspicion that the Witch wouldn't adjust her life style even if she was dropped on a desert island. Heero had noticed that he was getting a fair amount of looks now he was in the street, he didn't like looks to begin with especially not looks that said 'you are not blending in, you are a total failure as disguising how much you Don't Belong.'

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Which way is Malkins."

"Left then a right at the fork." The Witch flicked her hand in a general direction. Heero looked to where she was gesturing then turned back to thank her, she had already walked away her bags once again bobbing behind her like ducklings in the water.

Heero slowly made his way down the crowded street trying not to stare as he watched street vendors argue with customers over the price of pickled newts and self stirring spoons. A particularly aggressive store owner tried to drag Heero into his store under the pretence of having "Just the right potion to tidy up those eyebrows!" but with some quick thinking and careful strategy he was able to escape eyebrows intact. Even if it did involve pointing into the distance and shouting "look at that!" As he wandered along he noticed a couple other individuals not wearing full robes, but over their regular clothes they had thrown a plain black robe. He finally arrived at Malkins, which turned out to be Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. The stores walls were lined with fabric and displays of cloaks, pins, gloves and boots were dotted across the floor. The squat smiling witch dressed all in lavender greeted him at the door turned out to be Madame Malkin herself and without any hesitation she pushed him to the back of her shop where a footstool waited in front of a wide mirror. Heero realized he was starting to become desensitized to all the bizarreness of this street when he didn't blink at the hovering measuring tape.

"No reason to ask what you're looking for it is obvious." She started to push him to get onto the stool. "Well don't be shy, we have to take your measurements before we get anything else done." Heero turned around to face her and she stopped pushing.

"Before we do any measuring…" The measuring tape seemed to bounce in eagerness. "I want to make sure you take muggle money." All the sudden Madame Malkin, and the tape, seemed a lot less eager.

"Why on earth would I take muggle money? You don't have a single knut of you do you?" She gave him a sweeping look as if hoping to discover some hidden wizard money.

"I'm just visiting, is there somewhere I can exchange…"

"Gringotts, out the door take a right big white building you can't miss it. Come back when you have some sickles and we will get you some robes." Madame Malkin waved him off already bustling over to a middle aged man peering at a pair of leather gloves. The measuring tape seemed to droop in sadness and sulk back to the stool.

Gringotts wasn't hard to find, a pure white building towering over all the other shops was bound to stand out. As he approached the building his noticed two things, one the front doors were massive and made out of bronze, two there were human like creatures guarding those doors. They had to be two feet shorter then Heero with narrow faces and black pointed beards. The fingers on their hands were inhumanly long and their shoes seemed to be made accommodate equally long feet. There was something other worldly about them that made Heero think that whatever they were they were not human. However strange and out of place they looked Heero knew better than to stare so he filed them under 'things to be surprised about later'. Clasped in those long fingers was a thin golden rod that the creatures waved around and poked at each individual seeking entrance.

A sign next to the doors but above the creatures' heads read. "All patrons must submit to Probity Probes. Any disguise be it potion or spells must be removed before entrance is allowed." Two wizards in plain black robes stopped beside Heero and observed the building.

"Didn't used to be this way." Grumbled one man.

"Well what do you expect, kids swooping in and stealing from vaults didn't help their reputation. Had to increase security after that."

"Doesn't mean I have to enjoy being poked by those little toads." The so called toads seemed to be particularly vicious while "probing" the two wizards, which really was just poking them sharply with the golden rods. Heero walked up the steps and submitted himself to a much softer poking, he did notice the two creatures exchanged a significant look before letting him through the door. Inside was a small room leading to a second pair of doors. They were silver with words engraved upon them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn_

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief you have been warned, beware _

_Of finding more than treasure there*_

Heero couldn't help but think that these wizards had a flair for the over dramatic. Another pair of the little creatures were waiting outside the silver door and bowed Heero through as he entered into a enormous marble lobby. A long counter ran along each wall of the building, and sitting behind it were hundreds of these little men. Behind the counters they weighed coins using old fashioned scales, peered at gems, and wrote in comically large books. Heero wondered how they ran efficiently without the use of technology, but looking up and seeing the floating candles he realized that everything ran on a very different kind of power. He approached an open counter where one of the creatures was writing in a ledger with a long feathered quill. He cleared his throat and the creature looked up.

"Can I help you." It said in a tone that implied there was nothing it would like to do less.

"Yes, I'm here to exchange currency."

"_This_ is not the currency exchange desk." It went back writing.

"Which desk would that be?" It looked down its considerably large nose as him.

"The currency desk is by the currency scales. Good Day." The dismissal was clear, Heero would just have to search for the desk on his own. Across the hall there was a desk where a worker was weighing gold coins against paper bills, strangely enough despite the mass difference the bills appeared to be heavier. Heero took an educated guess that this was the desk he needed and hurried over.

"Currency Exchange Desk?"

"Obviously…" responded the clerk with a narrowing of his eyes and a flick of his overly long fingers.

"I'd like to exchange some ESUN Dollars for sickles." Heero was proud of himself for remembering the name of the currency Malkin had sent him to get.

"Currency exchange form." A hand was help out.

"What?"

"I can't exchange currency without the proper currency exchange form." Heero had no way of knowing that since an unfortunate, and humiliating, break in three years ago Gringotts had become increasingly paranoid. In a reflection of such each action had a corresponding form and each form was checked and triple checked before the action was taken. It was no surprise to anyone that knew them that the creatures that ran the bank took great pleasure in causing additional frustration to their customers.

"I don't have a currency exchange form."

"Then you shan't get any currency exchanged." It went back to its scales.

"Where can I find the necessary forms?" While most people would have become frustrated with their current situation, most people weren't currently working with a government agency. Heero was more than equipped to deal with the tedium that accompanied administration. A long finger pointed to a previously unnoticed counter in the middle of the hall where a group of wizards appeared to be bumbling over a stack of forms.

Heero approached the counter and pushed his way through the confused wizards to sort through the piles. "Direct Deposit Authorization Form" "Direct Deposit Application Form" "Vault Application Form" "Additional Assistance Form" "Nondisclosure Agreement" "Withdrawal Form" the list went on and on, piles upon piles of color coded forms. Heero carefully chose a "Monetary Transaction Form" as well as a "Currency Exchange Form" and added a "Use of Muggle Currency Form" just to be safe. The issue he now faced was that the only writing utensil was a long feathered quill and a bottle of ink. However you don't reach the level Heero was at without a little dexterity and he carefully blotted and scrawled his way through all three forms. When Heero approached the desk again the creature looked surprised to see him back.

"Monetary Tranction Form" it stated with a smug sneer, which disappeared when Heero handed it over.

"Use of Muggle Currency Form" again Heero provided it.

"Currency Exchange Form" It had a shocked expression on its face when Heero provided each form filled out as neatly and thoroughly as any bank employee would.

"Well lets have what you're exchanging then." It grumbled and Heero handed over the money he had made in tips plus a little extra. "40 Muggle Dollars." The money was placed on the scale and the banker slowly added a collection of gold, silver and bronze coins to the other side till it evened out. "5 Galleons, 7 Sickles and 4 Knuts." It handed over the exchange money. "Will that be all." It raised an eyebrow at him but Heero got the feeling that it didn't dislike him nearly as much as when he'd first arrived.

"Yes, Thank you." Heero left the building to with his new coins tucked into his wallet. First stop: robes to blend in, second stop: bookstore to gather more information, third stop: well that was up in the air. After he got a better view of the area he's reevaluate his surroundings.

Madame Malkin seemed pleasantly surprised to see him, however her good mood was slightly decreased somewhere between being pushing Heero towards the back of the room and Heero interrupting her chatter to inform her that he was on a tight budget. She showed him to a rack of premade robes all the while extolling on the virtues of tailored robes, insisting that though all her robes were "masterpieces" nothing beat a tailored robe. When she realized he wouldn't be swayed she attempted to get him into scarlet robes with flying "snitches" whizzing around the corner (a snitch being some kind of yellow ball) which she insisted was all the rage with the younger crowd. After sifting through what seemed to be the entire rack she helped him into a plain navy blue robe which apparently "brought out those beautiful blue eyes." As it was the least ridiculous of all the robes he had tried on he decided to purchase them. There was another brief argument where she attempted to persuade him to wear no additional clothes under his robes. That was soon squashed by a well placed glare in her direction. In the end he only had to pay 1 galleon and 5 sickles, thanks to the discount on the robes. As he strode out of the shop ready to take on the world, he came to two very different realizations one was that he had no idea which direction to go the other that robes were not nearly as easy to walk in as you would think.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter (however much I wish I do)

A/N: Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews/suggestions I have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen next/who Heero will get to meet. Once again if you spot any issues, grammatical or other wise please let me know so I can fix it asap. Let me know how you think it's going feedback in any form is always appreciated!

* this is, of course, a direct quote from the Sorcerer's Stone pg 72

I used a Euro to Galleon conversion chart kindly provided by HP Lexicon to put together the currency


	5. Chapter 5

It turned out that finding a bookstore wasn't as easy as Heero first thought. There were several obstacles in the completion of this seemingly simple task. The first of which being that the crowded streets and the tiny shops made it difficult to truly observe what was being sold inside. Heero stopped to look at a display window where crystal balls and teacups were displayed next to smoking sticks of incense with a sign that said "Nothing aids your Inner Eye more than Madame Augurs' Ocular Opening Incense!" But before he could take a closer look the crowd pushed him away, and though it was only a few feet he was already in front of an entirely different shop.

It was also difficult to understand what each store was selling, though most had the name of shop clearly displayed the names often didn't make any sense. Heero could only assume that if was an actual member of this culture would be able to grasp the meanings. Even more complicated were the shop front windows, surely all you had to do was look at the products and understand what was being sold. In one store rats were playfully scampering in the front window, in the next hanging lifeless next to dead tarantulas and pickled newts tail (3 for a Knut!). In one window brooms were sweeping the display case floor, in the next they simply floated with an adoring crowd of children gasping at them.

He had to have passed the bookstore at least three times before he realized what it was. In his defense "Flourish and Blotts" wasn't a very clear sign for a bookstore (especially when Heero had never flourished or blotted anything), and the front window had displayed a cage of books which appeared to be attacking each other, scraps of paper were flying everywhere. A sign hung above it stating "Sale: Monster Book of Monsters While still in One Piece."

In terms of shopping there were plenty of bookstores but very few _BookStores_. Flourish and Blotts definitely belonged under the second category. The store was lined from floor to ceiling with texts, with perilous looking ladders leading up to the upper levels. There were books covering every possible surface, piled on tables, stacked on the floor and crammed onto shelves. The shop wasn't overly crowded but it was obvious that customers could get lost very easily. Heero wondered what kind of organizational system they employed, surely not dewey decimal. Little did Heero know that there was no organizational system the owner of Flourish and Blotts lived under the credo that you should leave books where they are left. Organization, in her mind, was for those who truly didn't want to read, if you could hunt down your own book then you can't read it. Any book hoarding tendencies that the owner may or may not have were not spoken of by the staff. Of course the owner wasn't the one selling the books and as the staff would tell you there is nothing worse than hunting down a whole set of school books when the back to Hogwarts rush comes in. No one is as pushy and as impatient as a mother herding her children through an all day shopping trip.

Heero picked up the first book he saw which turned out to "My year with Nessie: Debunking the myth, finding the Kelpie within." The cover featured a photograph of a horse lying in a large body of water, the horse than transformed into what Heero could only assume was a "Kelpie" or maybe the titular "Nessie" which appeared to be some kind of dinosaur. He traced his hand over the photograph as Nessie disappeared under the water, there was a slight possibility it was some kind of flat screen video receiver. However closer inspection of the book, and a reminder to himself of where he was, led to the conclusion that it was once again an interesting, and honestly useless, quirk of wizard's books. It almost seemed too ridiculous, books that can move, brooms that can fly, pickled newts and crystal balls, everything was right out of fairytales (or maybe they were the ones who wrote the fairy tales, whispered a paranoid little thought).

Thoughts on the manipulation of regular society by an underground sect of magic users aside the bookstore was turning out to be a less than brilliant idea. However useful books about magic were they were of little help to Heero if he couldn't find the introductory books. He could read all about "Unraveling Arithmancy" but he had no idea what arithmancy was, each title seemed more perplexing than the next. Any attempt to search out the most basic of instructional texts was blocked by the sheer disorganization of the building. Heero was developing a slight twitch in his left eye, the rampant disorganization and dizzying amount of information he couldn't process was not good for his constitution.

"Is anyone helping you?" A cheerful voice called out from behind one of the enormous bookcases. A small figure appeared stepping carefully to avoid knocking the randomly placed stacks of books.

"Ah no, I was just…"Heero lifted up a stray book, "Looking around." The figure turned out to be a frazzled looking young man wearing dusty grey robes.

"Looking for anything in particular?"

"Do you have any introductory books, or maybe an encyclopedia of information?" Heero didn't know if his request made him sound suspicious or just bookish.

"Well we've got a whole stack of 'The History of Magic' leftover from back to school shopping. Course if you're looking for something more recent we've got 'Modern Magical History' or 'Great Wizard Events of AC' really depends what kind of information you're looking for." The clerk narrowed his eyes at Heero sizing him up, "we've got some pamphlets over here, nothing too much just introductory information for muggleborns and their families. I guess you wouldn't need those though would you?" Heero wasn't sure but he was getting the feeling that this clerk was smarter than the average wizard, too bad he wasn't smart enough.

"My cousin is marrying a muggle, I thought I'd buy him some introductory books as a wedding present."

"Ah well in that case…" The clerk took off, somehow nimbly navigating through the towers of books picking up books seemingly without looking at them. Heero noticed that the clerk did have his wand in one hand which was continuously spinning and pointing to a different location. At one point the clerk climbed to the top of one of the ladders only to notice his wand pointing in the opposite direction. By the time he was done there was a tidy pile of books in front of Heero that came up to his waist. On the very top were a selection of pamphlets "So Your Child's a Wizard" "Magic and You" "A Brief Introduction to the Magical World" "Goblins and Ghouls the Facts and Fiction of Magic" "Why Hogwarts is Just as Good as Eton" "Accidental Magic, What Parents need to know" "What to say to Muggle Relations" "Keeping it secret, Keeping it safe: Statue of Secrecy explained"

"Most of them are for people with kids but there is plenty of general information." The clerk was looking a little flushed from his journey through the store but otherwise pleased with himself, quite possibly because he thought he was selling 20 Galleons worth of books. "Is there anything else you're looking for?"

"Anything on magic and wizards on space colonies?" Heero couldn't help but be curious of how wide spread this magic was, across earth most definitely but into space, living among the regular people on those enclosed space stations in the sky, was it even possibly?

"Actually yes we've got a great book on that, it's actually written by one of the original magical colonists." He leaned over at random and pulled out a good size book with a picture of a colony on the cover slowly rotating through space.

"I'll take it."

"And shall I wrap the rest up as well." The clerk gestured to the pile of history books.

"Hm?" Heero was distracted, mesmerized by the moving picture of his home. "No just the pamphlets and the Modern Magical History for now. Might come back later and pick something else out." If he had looked up from reading the foreword in his book Heero might have noticed the gritting of teeth and narrowing of eyes that were symptoms of a very annoyed worker.

"Are you sure sir? A lot of these books are very informative, I'd recommend at least two others." Heero watched a miniature shuttle take off from the book colony setting a course for book earth. "Modern Magical History has some gaps that would be filled in by one of the others…."

"No that's it, what does that come to."

"The two books are is 15 sickles and 10 knuts," the clerk had to force out the next words "and all of the pamphlets are free. If you'd follow me the register is over here." The clerk attempted to wade back through the sea of books but in frustration, both of his missed sale and the ever growing pile of literature, he swept his wand and forced the books to part creating a much more manageable pathway. He lead the way to an antique register and Heero handed over the necessary money and received the corresponding change.

"Shall I shrink these for you _Sir._" The clerk was obviously remaining polite only by some ingrained character trait.

"A muggle couldn't very well unshrink them now could he." Heero decided the best response to someone being pushy was to be pushy right back. "Just in a bag."

"Have a nice day." The clerk waved him out the door with an expression on his face that said he was happy to see Heero go.

The day had quickly turned into early afternoon and breakfast seemed an eternity ago. Heero had been trained to withstand such inconsequential things as hunger and thirst but that didn't mean civilian life hadn't made him soft. In addition wasn't that best way of understanding a culture through their cuisine? With that high expectation Heero entered one of the cafes dotting the street and seated himself by the window. It wasn't long before a waitress came over to take his order.

"Do you have anything special to London?" Heero was hoping to try some wizard delicacy

"Uh you mean like Fish and Chips?"

"Something a little more unique maybe?"

"Steak and Kidney Pie?" He shook his head no. "Bangers and Mash?" No. "Roast Beef?" No. "Shepherd's Pie?" No. The waitress was confused about what the customer wanted, these were all English dishes. Heero was starting to feel disappointed, there was nothing uniquely magical about any of this food, he couldn't very well ask for magic food but surely they must offer some kind of delicacy.

"Don't you have anything unique to Diagon Alley?" Maybe a more leading question would garner the proper response

"Well there is one thing…" Heero leaned forward in excitement "Alistair just learned how to make this great curry, we're the only place on Diagon with it." The waitress was very proud of that fact. Heero almost banged his head on the table but settled on surrendering to the inevitable.

"I'll take the curry." The waitress happily bounced off proud that her advice had convinced the customer. Heero leaned over and nabbed a used newspaper off a nearby table and settled down to peruse the articles. The front page was full of bright photographs in constant motion and at the above the mess of text and pictures was name of the paper was written in bold red letter dancing in a row. As far as Heero could see he couldn't have picked a better paper to read in order to understand the wizarding world. Heero had to admit that the articles it contained were eye opening, plenty of corrupt officials, conspiracies within the government and discoveries of apparently rare magical creatures. The paper seemed to be dedicated to investigative reporting.

Whatever these Crumple-Horned Snoracks were they certainly sounded interesting. The article about the ongoing expedition to Sweden to find the apparently shy and gentle creature was especially entertaining. He was disappointed that someone had removed the free Spectraspecs as he would have loved to have seen the apparently invisible wrackspurts. He folded up the paper to save for further examination later just in time for his lunch to arrive. The waitress carried it to his table, the food tasted like any other curry, and the all utensils stayed right where he left them. All in all it was a very disappointing lunch.

He finished off his meal with a cup of tea as he slowly paged through his newly acquired books. The text on Colonial Magical History was especially interesting. There were multiple citations to certain magical astronomy artifacts. The artifacts seemed to have an integral part in the establishment of magical communities both on the moon and in various space colonies. There was also an entire chapter on the cooperation between muggle and magical governments to coordinate the creation and positioning of the first colonies. Heero couldn't help but wonder how much interaction and influence these wizards once had over the UESA, OZ, and the Romefeller Foundation. How much influence did they have on the outside world, or were they truly so self involved that they completely ignored the war raging around them.

There was one thing for sure Heero wanted to look at some of these astronomy devices. He decided to take a more proactive approach to finding the necessary shop by simply asking the waitress the next time she stopped by.

"I'm look for a shop to by some astronomy equipment could you suggest a place?"

"Astronomy equipment? You mean like telescopes?" Heero nodded eagerly. "Sorry haven't bothered with astronomy since I was in school, I'm sure if you just look around you'll find one though." So much for a foolproof plan…

"Isn't there anyone you can ask who might know?"

"Eh we might have a map of the Alley somewhere in the back, should I go fetch it then?"

"Yes please" something about these people seemed to test Heero's patience to no end, it was as if they had no common sense.

The map was brought out from the back room and Heero carefully inspected the maze of streets that made up Diagon Alley. It probably would have been easier to understand if each shop name hadn't been hand written in a spindly black miniature text. As he had expected each shop seemed to be stack on top of each other, the closeness of the buildings didn't seem to aid in understanding the labels. The waitress continued to hover unhelpfully behind him pointing out buildings he didn't need to bother with.

"Ooooh Quality Quidditch Supplies is having a sale on Cleansweeps you should stop there, and Honeydukes just opened a new branch here I love Ice Mice. Astronomy is so boring why don't you go visit one of the other shops?"

"What about this place, Ogma's Magical Equipment?" He pointed out a shop directly across from Madame Malkin's that he must have missed during his window shopping.

"Probably…" The waitress seemed to have lost all interest in the subject now that it appeared that her recommendations were no longer being taken into account.

Ogma's Magical Equipment was the best shop for procuring magical artifacts, everything from Sneakoscopes to Omnioculars to Telescopes and Star charts. Many of the devices sold in the shop were extremely delicate instruments but seemed to attract the touch of every customer who stepped through the door. In their defense who didn't want to play with a device that revolved in the air with tiny glittering balls filled with precious gems and predicted the rotation of the planets around the sun. These kinds of priceless apparatus' were placed on high shelves to keep untrained hands away with careful wards around them. It was because of the rarity and beauty of these items that the entire shop was under a very specific set of wards. During the war Old Ogma had become increasingly concerned about the security of his shop and had invested in a wide range of wards, wards for reinforcing and protecting, anti thief wards, thief alert wards and muggle alert wards. Ogma's concern about muggles stemmed from a pinch of racism and the fact that non magical interaction could possibly destroy several of his most delicate artifacts. These items had been passed down in his family for centuries and there was no way he was going to be the wizard who destroyed them.

So we have a paranoid wizard with a shop full of rare magical artifacts and muggle detecting alarms, and an inquisitive muggle hoping to look at some of the afore mentioned rare magical objects. This was of course an explosive situation just waiting to happen.

Heero approached the store at a fast pace maneuvering expertly through the crowd of shoppers and vendors. As he got closer to the shop he slowed down and checked that he was heading in the right direction, Madame Malkin's on the left and on the right, Ogma's Magical Equipment. The storefront was made out of a rich dark oak with a wide store front window exhibiting gadgets beyond Heero's imagination (which really wasn't saying much). The door to enter featured a stained glass depiction of the solar system that orbited around the bright sun. Ogma's was definitely what Heero was looking for and he eagerly pushed open the door to enter…

Then the alarms started to go off, a sound like a cat dying echoed loudly out of the shop and bright red sparks shot up high above the shops. Heero attempted to fall back into the crowd but that was a bit difficult when every shopper seemed to have stopped just to stare at him. For the first time in this adventure into territory previously unknown Heero was out of ideas, he didn't know how he'd possibly be able to wiggle out of this situation (whatever situation this may be). This was also the first time in a very long time that Heero felt fear, he had no idea what these people were capable of or what he had apparently done to cause this mess.

An old man came charging out of the shop, he was tall thin and gaunt but incredibly old, a fact primarily demonstrated in the wrinkles on his face, which had their own wrinkles who in turn had their own wrinkles. This man was in fact the store owner himself.

"Thief! Muggle! Hoodlum!" wheezed old Ogma as he reached the pavement. The crowd began to murmur to each other staring at Heero, Heero was not ok with this. He had no idea what to do and he could begin to feel the tiniest amount of panic, little did he know it was only going to get worse.

"Move aside, move aside" an authoritative voice was calling from the back of the crowd.

"Auror department here to investigate a disturbance move over!" yelled a much less professional sounding voice.

The crowd parted to reveal two men in blood red robes, one with black hair and spectacles the other with ginger hair that clashed gloriously with his robes. Both had their wands out and were scanning the crowd in a manner that led Heero to believe they were some kind of police force.

"Right, what's this then?" queried the orange haired man (in his less than professional manner).

"This boy's a thief!" yelled out Ogma who had already worked himself up into quite a state, his face was bright red and his hands shaking.

"What's he stolen then?"The ginger officer looked skeptical while his partner continued to scan the crowd before focusing his sharp gaze on Heero.

"Well – I – I'm not sure yet, but he's definitely stolen something!" The two officers traded amused smiles and put their wands down.

"Mr. Ogma for the last time, you cannot go around accusing customers of theft just because they stop in front of your shop. How are you ever going to stay in business?" instructed the dark haired officer.

"My wards went off" stated Ogma indignantly "That means this boy is either a muggle or a thief." Ogma's tone clearly implied that the former was far worse than the latter, which didn't seem good to Heero. The officers seemed to agree as they traded a very telling look.

"I really don't think this is auror business Mr. Ogma, without any evidence of a crime…" the dark haired officer trailed off.

"And if there was a muggle here?" Ogma looked furious at the idea of it.

"Let's be serious Mr. Ogma there are a lot of things we could be dealing with right now, and a random muggle is the least dangerous of them." The crowd seemed to murmur in agreement with the ginger haired officer who turned around to face them. "Right you lot, time to disperse. There is obviously nothing to see here." As the crowd moved away Heero was feeling incredibly lucky, these officers obviously weren't going to do anything to him thanks to Ogma's reputation for paranoia.

"So the potential discovery and ruin of our entire society isn't considered important anymore is it? All you boys want to deal with is catching dark wizards and saving the girl, well guess what this shop has been in my family for over 100 years, and I will be damned if I'm going to let it fall to ruin because of two lazy excuses for Aurors!" Ogma was working himself up to a full blown rant.

"Right, calm down" placated the dark haired Auror. "You go back inside we'll have a talk with the suspect and get to the bottom of this." Heero was feeling a whole lot less lucky as the two "Aurors" walked over to where he was standing. However the departure of Ogma did seem to lessen the tension considerably.

"I'm Auror Weasley and this is Auror Potter," the ginger haired officer said in introduction. "Now why don't you tell us what happened, in your own words." Heero's mind was racing how could he possibly spin this story so they didn't discover his secret, could he lie? Would they know if he was lying? Could they read minds? He narrowed his eyes and looked at them suspiciously, were they reading his mind right now? While his mind was racing on the inside his face was completely blank on the exterior.

"It's a simple question," coaxed Auror Potter, "Did you do something that set the alarm off?" Potter tried to keep his voice soft and gentle because there was obviously something wrong with their witness. He was staring at them with blank eyes and a vacant expression, Potter almost wondered if the witness had been obliviated.

"How about an easier question," offered Auror Weasley. "Can we see your wand?" Heero's eyes widened in full blown panic, while on the outside he looked as placid as ever, internally sirens were sounding. While he may have been able to talk his way out of setting the wards off there was no way he could produce a wand, and Heero had a feeling that the old 'I left it at home' excuse just wouldn't cut it.

"Look Mate I don't know why you're being so difficult. We all know Ogma is a paranoid old bat, so just hand over your wand we'll do a quick prior incantatum and we'll all get on with our lives." Auror Weasley appeared to be getting frustrated. "If you don't cooperate we're going to have to bring you in."

"I don't think we've got your name either." Now both Aurors were looking at him in suspicion. "You have to cooperate with us or things are just going to get difficult." Heero continued to just stare at them, he had invaded earth, saved the planet, fought in numerous battles, strategized and infiltrated but at this very moment when he needed all that experience the most his mind was completely and utterly blank.

"Okay we gave you fair enough warning," Auror Weasley reached out to grab Heero's arm. "We're going to have to bring you in." Heero attempted to move away but Auror Weasley had a strong grip on his arm, Auror Weasley moved to pull Heero towards the exit of the Alley when a piercing voice split the air.

"WHAT THE DEVIL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING." All three men turned around and standing from his spot behind the two Aurors Heero got a glance of dark maroon before Auror Weasley was hit over the head with an overly large handbag. "You unhand my grandson right away." The voice sounded incredibly familiar and he tried to place it as Auror Weasley continued to be pummeled and Auror Potter tried to ward the attacker off.

"Madame ple-" SMACK "please Madame can yo-" SMACK "If you would jus-" SMACK "Hey knock it off!" Auror Weasley managed to catch the handbag at the next swing.

"Madame please if you could just calm down." Plead Auror Potter as he and Auror Weasley attempted to wrench the handbag from her grip.

"You let my grandson go right this minute!" The Madame in question appeared to be just as strong if not stronger then the two Aurors as it appeared they were having a very difficult time keeping a hold of her bag.

"Alright, alright I'm letting him go, see!" Auror Weasley carefully released his grip on Heero's arm. "Hey kid go call your grandmother off." Heero moved around the Aurors to observe his so called "grandmother" and was surprised by what he saw. A short old woman in maroon robes with a lacy trim, her gray hair had been pulled back but in her fury was now falling out of its severe bun. If he had to describe her in one word it would be…Witch with a capital W. She was, without a doubt, the witch who had helped him into Diagon Alley sans hat and floating bags. She winked at him before turning back to the Aurors with a furious expression.

"Just who do you think you are! Grabbing young boys just for standing on the street! I'll be writing a letter to your supervisor." Both Aurors were looking rather embarrassed but Auror Potter pressed on.

"Madame the young man set off the wards and is refusing to answer any questions."

"Of course he is, can't you see he's terrified!" Heero was sincerely hoping he didn't look anything close to terrified, but as it could only help his situation he widened his eyes and attempted to look scared. "You think just because you've got those fancy robes and big badges you can push regular witches and wizards around. Come here boy!" The old woman gestured to him and Heero quickly moved to her side where she grabbed his hand and started patting it. "The poor boy is obviously in shock, he's always been a bit delicate." Heero had never been happier that no one he knew would ever know about this.

"Perhaps you can answer some questions for us Madame…" Auror Potter trailed off

"Eeylop, Beatrice Eeylop" she responded stiffly.

"Like the Owl Emproium?" asked Auror Weasley. Her expression alone let him know what she thought of his intelligence.

"Yes, like the Owl Emporium." The words stupid boy were heavily implied, Auror Weasley turned bright red (which Heero noted complimented his robes quite well).

"Madame Eeylop, could you possibly explain to us how your grandson could have set off the wards?" Auror Potter was obviously the calmer of the two.

"Ogma's wards?" Madame Eeylop eyed Ogma's store. "Isn't obvious? The old man is positively batty. I'm surprised he can even set wards properly, just last week I saw him accusing an owl of stealing his glasses when they were on top of his head. If anything he set off the wards himself to get attention. You can ask anyone around here the man is loopy." All the while she continued to pat Heero's hand sympathetically. "And my poor grandson, so sweet and shy gets caught up in all this nonsense," she huffed "I'm about ready to march in there and curse Ogma into next Tuesday." Heero attempted to look both sweet and shy, it wasn't easy as he'd never been described as such in his whole life.

"That's really not necessary Madame. You must understand our position, when there is a disturbance in the Alley we have to investigate." Madame Eeylop sniffed at them.

"Well you've investigated; it was obviously nothing so I see no more reason for you to torment my poor grandson. Don't think just because you're acting polite now your supervisor won't get an owl from me. "

"Didn't even cross my mind Madame." Auror Potter made a short bow, "Auror Weasley and I apologize sincerely for any trouble we may have caused. Have a good day." Auror Potter tugged a still gaping Auror Weasley away with him back towards the direction they had come from. Madame Eeylop turned to Heero with pursed lips and a stern expression.

"Now we're going to go into my shop and we're going to have a discussion about sneaking into dangerous places." Heero had never known his mother but he had the feeling that this is what maternal disappointment felt like.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter (however much I wish I do)

A/N: Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews and all the hits I've gotten (over 1,000!) I'm sorry this took so long but I was trying to make this chapter a bit lengthier than usual! If you see any spelling/grammar mistakes please point them out so I can fix them ASAP. Also drop me a line I'd love to hear your thoughts about what sucks, what you like and even just saying hi!


	6. Chapter 6

Madame Eeylop dragged him down the street with surprisingly little difficulty; Heero wondered if this was how naughty children felt right before a scolding. It didn't help that people were staring at the tiny witch dragging a significantly taller man along. Heero felt his face begin to heat up as he caught a group of children laughing at his expense. She led him to a shop with the words "Eeylop's Owl Emporium" emblazoned on the front window. If it wasn't obvious already what was being sold there were several different cages holding a variety of owls hanging outside the building. As they entered Heero couldn't help but feel that each owl was giving him identical disappointed looks to match their mistress.

The shop itself was dark on this inside, despite the large store front window, light didn't seem to enter from the outside. It was a small shop, definitely less space than Flourish and Blotts, Madame Malkin's and the even the café Heero had stopped in. It was also packed full of owls, each in an individual cage, but thankfully without the smell that accompanied large flocks of birds. As he was pulled through the shop Heero observed a pair of Barn Owls who blinked solemnly as he passed.

They reached the back of the store and Madame Eeylop turned around and flicked her wand, the front door locked and the lights in the storefront became, if possible darker. Heero was starting to become concerned for his safety. She still hadn't let go of his sleeve and was holding her wand aloft in the other hand. He never underestimated individual's abilities even if they were 2 feet shorter than him, and 5 times his age especially when the individual in question wielded an all powerful stick. The darkness, the wand waving and the locked door were all putting him on edge and while he would never hit an old woman, unless she hit first, that certainly didn't mean she wouldn't hit him.

"Right then let's have a cup of tea and a good long talk." Heero might have been on guard but Madame Eeylop was either unaware or just completely unconcerned with who she'd just locked herself in with. She tapped her wand along the back wall and opened up a previously hidden door before leading Heero inside.

The hidden room was a brightly lit office, the walls were decorated with sketches and photographs of owls which fluttered from picture to picture. On the roof was a large skylight that was wide open and sitting on a perch on a large oak desk was the largest owl Heero had ever seen. It had to be 2 feet tall at least with shades of dark grey dotted through its feathers and a sharp looking beak. Heero was definitely not afraid of it…because there was no reason to be afraid of a bird, with a sharp beak and massive talons and what looked like a very grumpy expression on its face.

"Did we wake you up?" cooed Madame Eeylop, stroking the owl lightly. Heero didn't know how it was possible but the owl seemed to give her an adoring look before giving Heero a glare that spelled painful death (a glare Heero may or may not have used on annoying individuals himself). Madame Eeylop lifted up the Owl, perch and all, as if it weighed nothing and placed it on a side table that was shaded. "You just go right back to sleep." The owl seemed to tolerate the baby talk and settled back ruffling its feathers.

After making sure the owl was settled Madame Eeylop set about preparing tea, of course not in a normal way but by tapping a tea pot with her wand till it started steaming and conjuring two sturdy looking mugs. The tea service was placed on her desk and she carefully prepared tea for the both of them (of course not asking how Heero took his). She gestured for Heero to sit down in the comfy chair in front of the desk and she pulled over an additional chair. Heero was amused to notice that the added padding on her chair put them at eye level. She all but forced him to take his mug as she settled into her chair. Heero took a sip of his tea, it was black and though he wasn't one to complain even a splash of milk would have improved the flavor exponentially. Before he could reach over for the milk the witch gave him a look, a look that said: you drink you tea how I think you should end of story. Heero aborted his attempt and stared down at his cup where he could see tea leaves floating around.

"So" she said, taking a sip of her tea, "do you have something you want to say to me?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Thank you!" responded Heero, "I really don't know how all of that happened, but thank you for helping me out." That apparently was not the answer she was looking for.

"Is that it?" another sip of tea.

"uh…Thank You again for helping me through the gateway?" Heero didn't know what she was looking for.

"Hmph. So you are saying you have no idea what set off the alarms at Ogma's shop."

"No I have no idea, I was just walking by and they went off!" Heero decided he should just pick a story and stick to it. "This tea is wonderful what blend is it?" He thought maybe he could distract her, but her expression told him that wasn't going to work.

"So you are telling me that you just walked by and the wards went off, that you didn't do anything to cause it to happen."

"Exactly so."

"So you wouldn't be a _muggle_ now would you…because a _muggle_ isn't supposed to be in Diagon Alley and _muggles_ aren't supposed to know about magic. If a witch or wizard was to reveal magic to a _muggle_ they would be very serious repercussions for that witch or wizard, however if the _muggle_ happened to discover on their own…" As Heero become more and more nervous Madame Eeylop seemed to become increasingly calmer. "So I'll ask you again, now that you understand how serious it is for a witch or wizard to help a _muggle_ into Diagon Alley, do you have something you want to say to me." Heero had definitely just been outmaneuvered by an old lady. He did owe her quite a lot; she had helped him through the gate and prevented him from being arrested. At the very least he should tell her the whole truth.

"Alright, you're right I am a muggle." Madame Eeylop looked like the cat, or perhaps owl, that ate the canary. "I noticed the Leaky Cauldron one day and decided to try and get through. Once I was through I didn't know if I could deal with the wards a second time so I decided to just keep going forward. That's when we met at the gateway, once I was on Diagon Alley I went and looked at some of the shops. I was going to Ogma's because I wanted to look at some the astronomy equipment and that's when the wards went off." He took a deep breath. "So what are you going to do?" Madame Eeylop took a long sip of her tea.

"Do? Why would I need to do anything?"

"I thought you said there were repercussions, problems…"

"My dear you found the way here all on your own, I didn't help you past the wards and I certainly didn't help you through the gateway it was that idiotic officials fault. As for Ogma's well is it my fault that you look exactly like my grandson?" she said this with a twinkle in her eye.

"But how did you know? No one else seemed to notice! What gave me away?"

"Well to start with your reaction to just about everything was incorrect, most wizards have the unfortunate propensity to rely on their wands for absolutely everything. Any other wizard, foreign or not, would have simply transfigured an article of clothing into robes. I had my suspicions so I decided to test it by dropping one of my bags. The fact that you picked it up with your hands instead of levitating it to me was a clear sign that you did not or could not use magic. And of course even a visiting wizard would know to ask for Gringotts." Heero realized that even then the witch had been trying to help him, she helped him through the gateway, told him where to buy robes and even distracted the official so Heero could sneak past.

Madame Eeylops calm expression had been replaced with a rather annoyed one.

"After that I thought you'd be fine on your own. You certainly seemed brighter than the average idiot. Then I hear the wards going off come outside to investigate and who do I find? You all caught out by some Aurors staring at them as if acting like you are a brick wall will somehow remedy the situation. On top of it all the whole of Diagon Alley is there to witness it. Do you have no sense of self preservation? If a ministry level obliviator had gotten their hands on you you'd be wandering Scotland right now wondering what happened to the last six months of your life. And I didn't seem to catch your name." Heero attempted to take note of each thing she said in order to fix it in the future.

"My name is Heero Yuy and I really am sorry about all the trouble I've caused you." This was quite possibly the finest apology Heero had ever spoken, and possibly the most sincere. The witch waved a hand as if to waft the apology away.

"Heero Yuy? That is an odd name isn't it?" Heero didn't think it was any odder than Eeylop. "It really wasn't much trouble, I just enjoy complaining. Honestly it was a bit of fun, getting one over on the idiotic ministry." She gave Heero a mischievous smile.

"I just have to ask, why did you help me?"

"You really do remind of my grandson. The exact same coloring and it is eerie how similar an expression you both have when you're lost. Like everything in the world has been taken away from you and you'll do anything to get it back." Madame Eeylop looked pensive.

"So we look alike then?" Heero wondered how a like he could look with his colony coloring and race.

"Oh Yes quite alike! Shall I get a picture?" Not waiting for his response she started to rummage through a drawer in the desk pulling out items too large for the desk including 4 large texts, a box labeled Owl Treats and several dead mice. She pulled out a large dusty looking book that could only be an old family album and brought it over to where they were sitting.

"Let me see, let me see." She flicked through the pages faster than Heero could glance at them. "Ah here he is!" she passed over the book and pointed to a specific picture. "There he is Edmund Eeylops isn't he adorable!"

Edmund Eeylops did indeed look like Heero: dark blue eyes and brown hair that seemed to sit in an unruly mess on his head. In this picture he was sitting at the beach and the sea breeze was blowing his hair back and forth as he concentrated on building a sand castle. Heero was amused to notice that Edmunds shirt featured a large owl on it, not unlike the one inhabiting the office, which periodically flexed its wings. However there was one very large difference between Heero and Edmund, a difference of about twelve years.

"Is this an older picture of him?" asked Heero.

"Oh no, this picture is from just last summer, we all took a trip down to the Devon. Little Edmund just adored the sand."

Heero had assumed that the grandson in question would be at least a similar age to him. He didn't know if he should be insulted or just amused that he apparently held a strong resemblance to a toddler.

"You just seemed like a young man looking for the next adventure and I know if Edmund ever wanted to go out into the world and explore I wouldn't stop him."

Heero didn't know if he should tell her that he was an agent for the muggle government; that this entire thing was part of, and sparked by, an investigation on Charing Cross Road and he certainly wasn't going to tell her that his mission report was required to include all the information he gathered. Heero was perfectly content to let the witch go on believing that this was some kind of wild adventure of a random muggle boy. In a way Heero wanted it to be that way too, as a Preventer Agent it was his duty to return to headquarters as soon as possible and brief the commander on a possible planet wide security breach. In his disguise as average teen Heero could continue to explore and learn. It didn't pass his notice that if he did reveal the existence of magic Madame Eeylop would certainly come under considerable scrutiny. Sitting in the office with the tiny woman and her ill tempered owl Heero's mind was warring with itself. All that he had been during the war, a solider obligated to always complete the mission, clashed with the person he had slowly been becoming over the past three years.

"Are you alright?" Madame Eeylop gave Heero a concerned look. "Drink the rest of your tea." Heero didn't know how that would make him feel better but he gulped it down anyway. "Now hand me your cup." She commanded, Heero assumed she was going to refill it and almost held it back but with glare he placed it into her hands. She began to turn swirl the cup in her hands looking down at the dregs.

"Is there something in the cup?" he asked. She looked up from her careful inspection of the soggy tea leaves.

"Well you looked so confused I thought I'd give a try at reading your tea leaves."

"Reading my tea leaves?" Of all the things Heero had heard since embarking on this exploration this seemed the most implausible.

"I'll have you know that I was a dab hand at this when I was in school. I predicted Mina Plank would trip down that flight of stairs months before it happened." She huffed and returned to looking into the cup. "I'm seeing a wavy road…are you uncertain of what path you should take?" Heero nodded, she twisted the cup around in her hands. "A loop, you have a serious commitment that you cannot break?" Again she was correct, Heero started to reevaluate his opinions on tea leaves. "Dice, there has been a change in your life you should follow it and see where it leads." She set his cup down on the table. "So now you know what your tea cup says do you feel a little better about your dilemma?"

"Madame Eeylop, do you think you could help me find a way to come back to Diagon Alley after I leave? I wouldn't tell anyone else, it would just be for me." Heero realized that all of his friends had embarked on new stages of their lives, they'd explored their interests met new people and moved on. Maybe it was about time that he walked away from the comfort of the Preventers and found something completely of his own. This was a line of thinking Heero had been sitting on for quite a while and the pictograms an elderly lady saw in a cup had absolutely nothing to do with it, as he continued to remind himself.

"I can think of an idea or two, let me see if I can find the item I'm thinking of." Madame Eeylop got up from her chair to rummage around in her desk and Heero leaned over to look into his cup. As far as he could tell it was one large blob of soggy brown leaves. When she returned she held a brooch the size of her hand of a snowy white owl its wings flared and talons outstretched as swooping in on its prey.

"Over several generations there have been a number of Eeylops, we are a rather large clan, who have been born squibs, that is to say born without a drop of magic. As our family is traditionally owl breeders and trainers this isn't so terrible, you certainly don't need a lick of magic to take care of a decent owl. However there are always a few who decide to leave and live along with the muggles and when it comes to returning to Diagon Alley things get difficult."

She held up the owl pin. "My great grandfather Glaucidius Eeylop enchanted this pin for the squib members of the Eeylop family. If they ever needed to get through wards that excluded those without magic this pin would help them through. Of course I'm not giving you this it's a priceless family heirloom." She pulled out a much smaller brooch that appeared to be a miniaturized depiction of the owl now glaring at Heero from its spot along the back wall. "I made this one myself, not as grand looking but it does the trick." She held it out to him.

"Are you sure you should give this to me?"he asked. This would most definitely get her in trouble if nothing else would.

"No I just went rummaging around looking for an artifact I hand crafted because I felt like it." She rolled her eyes. "Just take it and put it on you foolish boy."

Heero picked up the pin and immediately felt a difference, he hadn't realized it but there had been a low level buzzing in the back of his head ever since he had set foot in Diagon Alley and with the brooch in hand it had finally lifted. He carefully pinned it to the front of his robes and felt a shiver of relief wash down his body as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Now isn't that so much better?" commented Madame Eeylop with a smile. "Look at you, you could almost pass for a proper wizard."

"Are you really doing all of this just because I look like your grandson?" Heero wasn't one to just accept things for face value.

"Is that so strange? I guess when you get old you start to do the strangest things." She gave him an amused smile. "You reminded me a little of myself, so focused and straight faced, but under it all just looking for something new and different. When I was your age it was expected of me to graduate from Hogwarts and settle into working here at this very shop. But I wanted to see the world, so despite my family's wishes I packed up and traveled across the continents discovering new magical owls that had never been seen in Europe." She opened up the album that had been sitting on the desk and pointed out a photograph of a young woman with an owl sitting on her forearm. The girl and the owl were standing in what appeared to be a vast rain forest and every once in a while they would shake the rain off.

"I went on an adventure and all of the best things in my life have stemmed from that adventure." She gave Heero a searching look. "Sometimes it's very easy to just fall into something that feels comfortable, however it's searching for something that will actually make you happy that will shape your life."

"Won't you get into trouble if someone finds out?"

"I'm an old woman what could they do to me? Besides the point we're surrounded by idiots. Those two aurors that stopped you are heroes from the most recent war and top of their class at the academy. If they didn't catch on then I doubt anyone will." She rose up from her seat and moved to put the album back in its proper place. "It's about time that I reopened the shop. You should be on your way, out exploring or back home." She made a waving motion with her hand as if to fan him off into a passing breeze.

"If I come back could I stop by and visit you?" Heero figured he shouldn't let a valuable source of information go as well as staying in contact with the individuals who knew, and would protect, his secret and there was no denying that Madame Eeylop was one of a kind.

"I suppose so." Madame Eeylop answered. "Someone will have to make sure you don't make a complete fool of yourself. Now out, I've got a shop to run can't spend all day lollygagging." She shooed Heero out of the office and to the front door of the shop.

"I'll come by next week." He promised already making plans and strategies for his next trip.

"You do that." She replied stiffly hiding a smile. As Heero exited back on the street Madame Eeylop returned to her office where she began to clear up the tea service. "Reading tea leaves how gullible do you think that boy was?" She commented to the large owl who had flutter to perch on the back of her chair. She looked over at a photograph sitting at her desk facing away from the visitors chair.

"He really did look just like him." The photograph revealed a man with a youthful face but a stern expression. His eyes were a dark blue and hair a dark brown in a messy arrangement on his head. Standing next to him was a young woman heavily pregnant and though they occasionally shared loving looks when the woman looked away the man returned to his stern and serious appearance.

"Can't go dwelling on the past." She commented to the owl, "What's gone is gone and no wishing in the world will bring it back. Still, the likeness is uncanny. Except those eyebrows of course, goodness aren't they a fright."

Heero sneezed as he walked towards the Leaky Cauldron. Mission investigate disappearing people had been a triumphant success now he had to go home, write up his mission report with the new developments and possibly quit his job.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter (however much I wish I do)

A/N: Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews and all the hits I've gotten (over 1,000!) and all the new followers! I hope everyone enjoyed Madame Eeylop she was quite fun to write. I'm sure that this fic might be a little confusing/not a lot of readers cup of tea because it's not really the norm for the GW genre. I guess I'm just a little sick of the stereotypes that have grown in the GW group so instead of doing the same old thing (Heero just saying hn the whole time: Hello people have you watched the anime? He makes like 3 huge monologues!) I decided to just do something completely different. Also I hope the more serious moments aren't too out of place? I had a really serious version of why Madame Eeylop helped Heero but downgraded it to this one. My other idea was a completely ridiculous one ("Heero _you_ are the grandson you remind me of! Welcome home you're a wizard!") which would have been funny but not really where I was going. Now I realize this note is getting rather long...and most of you won't read it but anyone who does (and everyone in general) please drop a line and let me know what you thought, too serious? too funny? not funny enough? Let me know!


	7. Chapter 7

Preventer's policy clearly outlined that all mission reports were to be submitted digitally to the agents supervisor with a cc to any additional parties. In the case of highly sensitive mission it was required that agents encode the information and send it to the Commander of their unit. In the case of missions so secretive that even the unit commander didn't know of it reports were required to be submitted verbally to the regional commander, or whoever was available and debriefed of a higher rank. Heero felt that his current mission report did not fall under any of these criteria. Yes, the first part of the mission should be submitted digitally to his supervisory agent; however the information that came to light during this investigation certainly walked a fine line between highly sensitive and life altering revelation.

In these kinds of situations Heero usually analyzed the circumstances and decided which method would best fit the mission criteria. Incidences of exploding cars were allocated to a lower level of mission report than the infamous Murray Case which of course, in light of everything that happened, had been so top secret even Heero didn't truly understand what had happened. Any preceding case reports Heero had produced had not prepared him for his current situation. Torn between too paranoid and not paranoid enough Heero had settled for composing a typed hard copy of his report which he planned on submitting in person to Une herself.

His first issue was getting a meeting with Une, as his original mission had been a low security level his supervisory agent had been a little skeptical on what could possibly be so sensitive. In cases like these it helped that his reputation as all around bad ass was still intact even after his status report dress down. All it took was a blank stare and a short "I don't think you've been cleared for that" and he had a half hour scheduled with Une for a debriefing.

So this was how Heero found himself sitting in front of Une's office with a brief case carrying 50 pages of report, of course the first five were related to his actual mission but the last 45 were his experiences with the so called wizarding world. He had transcribed each and every detail of his investigation including his opinions on what further action needed to be taken. He wouldn't say that he was nervous, nerves were for untested rookies, so no he wasn't nervous he was just agitated. There were several factors that had led to this but primarily was the question of whether it was right for him to disclose this information after it was entrusted to him. He tried not to think of the owl pin safely tucked away in his pocket.

"Alright you can come in now" announced Une from her office and Heero pushed open the glass door to enter into the room. She sat behind a large oak desk with an exasperated expression on her face. He stood at attention in front of her desk. "Well Yuy, what was so important that you had to report it to me in person." Heero reached into the briefcase to pull out his report.

"I felt that information would be best conveyed to you and through a hard copy. I didn't want a digital copy to be comprise-" she cut him off there.

"Look Yuy, first I would like to say that we are all incredibly thankful for the thoroughness and dedication you put into your work." She brought both hands up to rub her temples. "However, we have already had a discussion about mission reports and what they should include. I understand that you've already given a preliminary debrief to your direct superior and he has informed me that it was sufficient."

"Considering the circumstances I judged that this information required further discussion." Heero pressed on but Une was developing that expression on her face that meant she was two steps from tossing someone out of a plane.

"Yuy, I have tried to be polite about this but now I'm just going to give it to you straight soldier to soldier. Your mission reports and general conduct have been exemplary but flawed in the lack of understanding of how a larger organization works."

She held up a hand as to stop any protests he may have.

"I understand that prior to your work in the Preventers most of your missions were solo, you had only one individual to report to, and no need to consider the repercussions of your actions. That time it over, you were hired under the same guidelines as any other agents, and should be held to the same standards as every other agent. I'm starting to suspect that you are not properly equipped to continue field work, maybe it would be best for you to transfer to our cyber crimes unit."

Heero knew what she saying behind all those pointless words. He didn't fit in to the mold of what Preventers should be, his work during the war meant he was ill equipped for his current position. They wanted to keep him on but in a capacity where they could best control him. Heero didn't like what he heard, he didn't like it one bit. Une leaned back in her chair and gave him what she probably hoped was a friendly smile, it was more like a predator barring its teeth.

"So let's see this mission report then. How many pages will I be flipping through today." Heero reached into his brief case and pulled out the documents he had prepared.

"Just five, I took your advice into consideration when preparing the document and kept it to only the most necessary details." Heero would have smirked if it wouldn't have been incredibly unprofessional. He handed over the document.

"And what in here caused you to need a meeting with me." Une started to flip through the document feeling nothing but surprised at the supposed brevity. Heero reach into his case and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"My letter of resignation." Une was not a woman of a great many facial expressions, she schooled her features to either be neutral or annoyed. So it was a testament to how shocking this news was to her that her eyes actually widened before narrowing once again.

"What would be your reasons for resigning?"

"They are outlined thoroughly in my letter. I feel that I am ill equipped for working in a 'larger organization' as most agents and missions do not require my level of expertise." He held back a smug smirk. "I've decided to pursue some of my other interests and find employment elsewhere. This is of course only my two weeks' notice, I will of course help to close any cases I am still involved in as well help search for a replacement agent."

"Are you sure you want to do this? I thought you enjoyed the work you did here."

"The position seemed like an excellent match for my skills and experience but I am not able to fully utilize them in my current job." Une did not need to know that Heero had rehearsed this conversation. He had actually rehearsed two, the other being a full report of the events and secretive world he encountered. He hadn't know which report he'd be given till he walked through that door.

"What will you do?" Une could only imagine what this wayward Gundam Pilot would do with no structure in his life.

"I guess whatever I want." He hadn't really thought it out fully, he did have a couple ideas that just might work.

"I'll keep your position open for you." She said firmly, assuming he'd be back after he realized how ill equipped he was to work outside of the Preventers.

"Do what you like, it doesn't matter to me." He moved to exit the office but turned around as he pushed open the door to exit. "I'm taking the rest of the day off. Please inform my Supervisory Agent about this turn of events, I wouldn't want him left out of the loop." He pushed open the door smiling to himself as he heard Une actual gasp at his audacity.

He headed back to his office where he collected his few personal items to bring home while wiping his computer of any information he had saved there. The last thing he did before exiting the building was to dump the rest of his report into a shredder and watch it be sliced into thousands of tiny insignificant pieces. Every word he'd written was sliced up and mixed in with poorly written reports, agent files, and other miscellaneous documents where they would later be fed into an incinerator. He exited the office building and looked out onto the street.

He didn't know where he was going but he knew wherever he went it would be his alone.

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Disclaimer: For the last time! I don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter (however much I wish I do) Stop asking!

A/N

Hey guys this is the end! Thank you so much for all your support/reviews/followers. Every time I get an email about a new follower I cackle to myself because it makes me feel like an evil dictator.

I know some of you were really gunning for a whole other arc of plotlines but I always had this in my head that this is where we would finish it off! However I'm happy to announce that I have plans in the works to write a series of one shots in the same universe, they will probably range from a check in on what Heero will do next, to maybe encounters of the magical kind with other beloved characters (wink wink). So I need YOU yes YOU dear readers to leave me a note/review/PM with ideas on what you would like to see. I aim to please so please don't hesitate, I'll probably start writing them in couple of weeks so don't be afraid to share ideas, sharing it caring!


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